5 Times They Were Soulmates and the One Time They Weren't
by ProudGeek4Ever
Summary: Five universes in which they were soulmates. One universe in which they weren't. Does it really which is which?
1. Chapter 1

A grumpy robin.

That's what the mark on her skin was.

The one thing that represented her soulmate was a grumpy bird.

She didn't even know a bird could look grumpy, but her mark somehow managed it.

She didn't care though because it was hers.

It was her mark.

Her soulmate.

Someone that was perfect for her.

She couldn't wait to meet and and get to know whoever it was.

* * *

He didn't want to ever meet his soulmate.

He never had wanted to.

The league made it clear that soulmates were a waste of time and a weakness.

It wasn't worth it.

Love was only useful against your enemies and there was no such thing as true love.

He spat at the bare thought of it.

But at night when no one was around he'd sometimes wonder.

Who was it that was unlucky enough to have him as a soulmate?

The cheeky looking ladybug on the side of his shoulder haunted him.

* * *

Her parents was so in love.

She loved watching them bake together.

They'd sing and laugh and dance around.

Sometimes they'd kiss and she'd wrinkle her nose when she really thought it was the sweetest thing she'd ever seen.

She could spend days studying the bread and the cake on their wrists.

She was sure that was exactly what soulmates were supposed to be like.

Her maman and papan explained that everyone was different and just because two people were soulmates didn't mean they'd fit perfectly.

It wasn't like that.

A relationship was hard work and both parts needed to be fully committed to make it go around.

She was going to make it work.

* * *

He doubted it would work out.

His mother had in hushed tones told him about her soulmate.

A strong, intelligent and skilled man that she'd with time had fallen in love with despite the league.

The words that came out of her mouth went against most everything he'd ever been taught.

A blessing, not a curse she said as she told him about his father.

They'd been in love, but he couldn't stand the life she lived and she couldn't bring herself to leave it.

Love hadn't been enough.

She never told him who her soulmate was, but he'd seen the mark on her side.

The mark of a bat.

* * *

She got taunted, bullied and downgraded.

Being the daughter of the mayor's doing made sure it didn't go reprimanded.

Sometimes she'd trip over her own feet and make a mess of everything.

She always was madly clumsy.

Unintelligible babble came flowing out of her mouth every time she got nervous.

Or embarrassed.

Or distressed.

And sometimes her mark meant so much more than normal because it was something a bully couldn't touch, her clumsiness couldn't break and her lack of finess in nerve shattering times couldn't pull her down.

The thought of her soulmate always made her smile through it all.

* * *

When he's ten he gets dropped off with his father and his horde of adopted children.

He'd been raised to believe that everything he did would earn him the approval of his father.

They'd lied.

All the rules he'd grown upp with, constants that always was and principles to follow weren't looked up on or even tolerated here.

It put him on edge.

The heathens his father refused to get rid of didn't make the situation better.

And even marks were different.

They didn't talk too much about them, but soulmates were apparently an accepted concept.

Grayson had said soulmarks represented someone that one would love and be loved by.

He didn't get the thing about love.

It was outside his realm of comprehensibility.

He didn't know what love was supposed to be.

That didn't stop him from tracing his mark when he needed something familiar.

* * *

Her soulmark was a gift she treasured and a motivation to keep going even when life got tough.

* * *

His soulmark was a phenomena he didn't understand and a lifeline he clung to when life changed.

* * *

Time passed.

She got older and grew both physically and mentally.

She made friends and learned to speak up against injustice.

Designing became her passion and her dream.

A pair of earrings gave her an alter ego.

Kwamis, miraculouses and akumas made their way into her everyday life.

She got a partner.

Met her grandfather for the first time.

She did work for Jagged Stone.

Helped her friends.

Became class president.

Won Gabriel Agreste's derby hat contest.

Helped out with the bakery.

Competed in a Ultimate Mecha Strike III.

The mark wasn't on the forefront of her mind anymore, but that didn't mean she completely forgot about it.

* * *

Time went by.

Father died.

Grayson made him Robin.

Somewhere in the time that follow he got used to the idea of having siblings.

Expectations and rules he'd had trouble with started to make sense.

He would never be exactly as everyone wanted him to be, but he started getting used to the idea of not being perfect.

Of not being what his mother, grandfather and the league had shaped him to be.

He could still be aggressive.

He didn't let his walls down or laugh.

But sometimes Grayson told him how proud he was.

That meant more than he let on.

Things had changed a lot when his father came back from his time travel mishap.

He was a better person though he'd never admit it.

Somewhere along the line his view on that mark changed too.

It wasn't as much of a bad thing anymore.

* * *

A few years later they met.

Both of them were sixteen by then and a few thing had changed.

Her life had gone downhill since a Lila Rossi came around.

He had found his place in the batclan.

Of course they didn't know they were soulmates.

No, that came later.

Their first meeting weren't one of those read in a storybook.

They didn't fall in love at first sight or feel anything special at all.

They didn't even say a word to each other.

It was simple really.

Her class was on a class trip to Gotham.

He was their guide at Wayne Enterprises.

When the tour was done they left without so much as knowing each other's names.

It wasn't until the day after they actually interacted.

* * *

Of course it all started with her running into him.

Literally running into that is.

In a coffee shop of all things.

"I'm so sorry." She put her hand over her mouth. "I didn't see you."

"No problem." Then he looked her over. "Aren't you part of that french class?"

She recognised him too and nodded. "You were our guide yesterday, right?"

"That I were." He looked around a bit. "Are you here alone?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yep. I was left behind at the hotel and when I tried to run after the bus I got lost."

She was quite surprised by the hint of anger she noticed before he reigned it in.

"Do you have any idea where they're headed at least?"

Wouldn't that have been helpful?

"No idea." She sighed and shook her head. "I've accepted that I'll just have to find the hotel and do something there for the day."

He closed his eyes in contemplation.

When he finally opened them he'd come to a decision.

"You could come with me if you want. I have some work to do att Wayne Tower, but I'm sure it would be a lot more interesting than spending the day at the hotel in all of your lonesome."

Her eyes went wide. "Really?"

He gave a curt nod and nothing could have prepared him for the big smile she gave him.

The bluebell eyes sparkled.

The barista behind the counter called out. "Marinette."

The girl in front of him moved towards the counter and he followed.

He gave a nod to her to go cup. "It suits you well."

She took a sip of her beverage. "Mm, thank you. I didn't catch your name."

He had just opened up his mouth, but he was interrupted by the barista. "Damian."

Marinette made a jerky motion with her head.

He grabbed his coffee as an answer.

She put out her hand in front of her. "Nice to meet you Damian."

He shook her hand. "Likewise Marinette."

* * *

Damian took her to Wayne Enterprises as promised and she was curious about what he had to do.

He'd refused to tell her on the way there.

They were in a smaller office that was hidden away on the 24th or something floor.

A laptop, several folders and some pens rested on the desk in front of her.

The chair she was sitting on had to be the most comfortable office chair in existence.

This day was looking quite interesting.

Then he finally told her what it was he was supposed to do.

Plan a Wayne Gala for next week.

It would be incredibly fun to do it, but one week was not nearly enough time for this.

She was baffled at the work load. "Why?"

It came as a surprise that he actually told her why he was doing this.

"I was partially responsable for an incident that happened last week and my father knows grounding me is useless. I sneak out anyway. So he dumped this on me instead."

"Well, then." She took a deep breath and rolled up her sleeves. "Then we'll make it work."

He stared at her quite incredulously. "We?"

"I'm not evil enough to let you do this by yourself." Then she paused for a second. "And it's on my bucket list to plan a large event. Can't say doing it in one week was part of it, but I'll take what I can get."

And then they began.

* * *

"Apparently no one is willing to cater on such short notice."

"Let me fix something."

"I don't think that would make any difference, but it's not like we have anything to lose."

"Trust me. I know how catering works. Why don't you handle the guest list?"

* * *

"Do we have a budget?"

"It's on the paper."

"That's a lot of zeroes."

* * *

"Do you have a last name?"

"I think everyone does."

"I meant to ask what yours is?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"How am I otherwise supposed to put you on the guest list?"

"For a Wayne gala?"

"What else?"

"..."

"..."

"Dupain-Cheng."

* * *

"How is it that your father can just hand the planning of something this important to you?"

"I don't think most people would dare say anything against it."

"He's high up in the company?"

"You could say that."

* * *

"What do you say about canapes?"

"Sounds posh enough."

* * *

"I think that's the third time you've written those names."

"It's the seventh actually."

"Why would you do that?"

"They're my siblings. They won't come if it's easy taking themselves off the list."

* * *

"Do you know any reporters that aren't the worst kind of tabloid material?"

"I'll email Lois Lane."

"Isn't she from Metropolis?"

"She is."

"Okay, then."

* * *

"I've booked a place to hold this infernal monstrosity."

* * *

"Does this place have any interns that would be interested in some extra work?"

"37th floor. Eight door to the right."

"I'll be back in a moment."

* * *

"Either I'm going crazy or that was the ninth time you wrote that name or variations of it on different places on the list."

"My father."

"Same reason as your siblings?"

"Oh, definitely."

* * *

"Wait a minute. Your father is Bruce Wayne?"

* * *

"What would you like for lunch?"

"Chinese?"

"I'll order."

* * *

"We have a problem."

"Only one?"

"We have another problem."

"What might that be?"

"No bakery is able to handle our order. Closest is in Central City and that's if we spread out to four different shops."

"I'll handle it."

* * *

"Do you have any idea how we're doing budget wise?"

"We haven't used more than a tenth of it, but we haven't counted with the catering yet."

"Right. Let's see. It should be something like that."

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me. I know what I'm doing."

* * *

They didn't finish up until after eight in the evening.

The lobby was even empty when they exited.

Damian took her to a drive through and they ate their burgers in the car before he drove her to her hotel.

They exchanged phone numbers and emails too so they'd be able to continue working remotely.

By then they knew they could actually get it done in time.

* * *

An entire day and they hadn't noticed that she'd been missing.

It didn't bother her as much anymore.

Especially now that she had a friend or partner in gala planning.

Maybe both.

The invitation she got in her email only made her smile as she went to bed.

* * *

The next day she was with her class until lunch.

Then they forgot her again.

That was fine.

Tragically she was prepared for that and had her laptop in her bag.

It didn't take her long to find her way to Wayne Tower.

Damian didn't ask her why she wasn't with her class.

* * *

The entire week went by somewhat like that.

She'd go with her class, but if they left her somewhere she'd head straight over to him.

Even when they weren't together they'd work on the event with the helpful aide of internet.

They had it all covered within five days.

The place was arranged with everything that would be needed.

The speedsters would bring the stuff for the dessert table from Central City and Alfred would keep it stocked at all times during the evening.

They'd made a classy playlist, gotten Los and Clark to cover the event and bought in champagne.

He'd been shocked by how she'd handled the catering problem.

Most people would have bribed a catering firm with way more money than necessary, but not Marinette.

No, instead Marinette decided to start up her own catering.

Now Wayne Enterprises had a catering department for any future Wayne galas.

She'd somehow managed to get the paperwork fixed and everything.

That was impressive since she didn't really work here and didn't have the power to do anything like that.

She also charmed the interns into agreeing to work the department for a slight increase in pay when any event takes place.

A menu was made and all the ingredients bought without him even noticing.

Not that money was an issue, but the amount they were saving with the help of her smart solutions were baffling.

That girl certainly was special.

* * *

He hadn't seen her for the last two days.

It had nothing to do with her class.

They hadn't suddenly grown up and seen the error in their ways.

It was because Marinette wanted time to make her own dress.

He'd known she was a designer, but designing for a big event wasn't something anyone would do.

He could respect her for doing it.

And he wasn't counting how long it would be until he'd see her tonight.

Certainly not.

* * *

But then circumstances got in the way.

In a strange coincidence Paris and Gotham needed their heroes at the same time.

So Kaalki took Ladybug to fight the newest akuma and sentimonster while Robin found himself in a bank with hostages, a bomb and gun wielding robbers.

Fun times.

Let it be said that neither the Parisian superheroes nor the Gotham vigilantes commented on the unusual hurry the ladybug and the robin were in.

* * *

He was late.

Marinette and he was going to meet up at the place of the gala two hours before everything started.

He was lucky he'd brought his tux there earlier.

He dove down an alley and climbed through the window into a room that was specifically reserved for them to hold the reins of everything.

Immediately he started getting changed.

* * *

She was late.

Damian was going to be waiting for her.

She was so lucky no one saw Ladybug swinging around Gotham.

The building was right in front of her and there was the window she had to go through.

It was already open so she could just swing in and detransform.

* * *

He still had his mask on and he was currently topless.

She came flying in through the window and then detransformed right in front of him.

Suffice to say they both stared.

None of them was stupid enough to not understand that they'd just revealed their respective alter ego to each other.

"I can explain."

His eyebrows rose. "You can?"

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

She gave up. "You're right. I can't."

They just looked at each other.

She absentmindedly noted that he had a rather fine six pack.

Then she had to stop herself from blushing.

He was taking in her dress.

It was a beautiful red two piece that showed off a bit of her stomach.

They both took a step forward.

The only problem with that was that it changed the angle they were looking at each other.

Their marks were now both in full view and there was no denying it.

Both of them were in the exact same place.

Left shoulder.

The fact that the marks showed a ladybug and a robin didn't exactly leave much room for doubts either.

They were soulmates.

* * *

It wasn't until half an hour later they came out.

He was dressed and her shoulders were bare.

The wonders of make up.

Nothing they did gave anything away.

Not a single soul would have thought they'd just found out they were soulmates.

* * *

Later after everything was said and done only the Waynes, Marinette and the people working the event were still there.

Damian was watching as Marinette shook hands with the evening's waiters and thanked them for their help.

"You did an incredible job with all of this."

He didn't jump.

He'd heard father and the rest coming.

"I can't take all the credit. I had help."

In his peripheral vision he could see Drake and Todd exchange weird glances.

Grayson and father was looking at him a bit oddly.

But Cassandra was smiling.

it was quite obvious she knew what was going on.

He decided to put them out of their misery.

He took them to her and introduced her.

"This is Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Introductions really wasn't his strong suit.

He liked how she exaggeratedly rolled her eyes.

He liked the smile she wore even more.

"It's nice to meet you," she said as she shook all of their hands.

"Are you an event planner?" Of course it was Todd.

But Grayson and father both seemed to believe it as an likely possibility.

"You know hiring someone to plan this for you wasn't allowed," father wasn't asking.

Marinette took it in stride though. "Good thing I'm not an event planner or hired then, but you should consider hiring someone to handle your finances. Your books makes it quite obvious you don't know how to barter for better prices."

The looks of absolute disbelief were glorious.

"Did I forget to mention that she's my soulmate?"

Their reactions still had nothing on the ones they wore when they found the both of them in the batcave one hour later.


	2. Chapter 2

Ten minutes to midnight on her twelfth birthday and she sat on her bed staring at her arm as if it held the answers to the universe.

It didn't.

At least not yet.

In just a few minutes her words would appear.

The words that would be her soulmate's first words to her.

Most people had something mundane like _Hi_, _Excuse me _or _What can I help you with?_

It made finding your soulmate difficult in some cases.

Then of course, there were the more eccentric ones, but they weren't nearly as normal.

Maman and papan had already told her she shouldn't get her hopes up for some amazing words.

And she didn't.

Really.

She knew the likely hood of her getting anything except the bare basic were minimal, but she had this feeling that her words would be something more.

So there she sat.

Time had to have slowed down to make the wait as unbearable as possible.

It was the only explanation.

Many different scenarios played out in her head.

Maybe she'd only get a greeting or an introduction.

She'd half convinced herself her gut feeling was wrong and she'd get something short and boring, when words began taking shape on her forearm.

It was miraculous.

Transfixed she watched as her words slowly became more and more legible.

_You kissed me._

Huh.

Her gut was right.

* * *

He hadn't known.

No one had ever bothered telling him.

The day after his twelfth birthday was normal, if slightly quiet.

That was until he'd stormed into the kitchen yelling bloody murder.

"WHO DID THIS?"

It kind of shattered the peace that had for once reigned.

His forearm was uncovered to show of the offence.

Everyone stared at him with different degrees of shock.

Drake was the first to snap out of it and just in time too.

He'd started considering grabbing a knife by then.

"You don't know?" Drake furrowed his brows.

"What is there to know except that one of you buffons have written nonsense on my arm?"

It wouldn't even surprise him if it was more than one of them.

His patience was wearing thin.

"Nonsense?" Brown smiled like a loon. "What does it say?"

"Don't you know how to read?"

"We can't see the words. Only you can." Grayson was as usual the only helpful one. "It's the first thing your soulmate will say to you."

Forget helpful and change that to crazy.

Cain would from now on be his favourite.

But what followed was a long, very, very, long explanation of soulmates and the likes.

And a lot of teasing.

Todd tried to ruffle his hair. "What is the words that will introduce you to your soulmate?"

_You kissed me back._

He refused to tell them what his words said.

* * *

"Why not?"

"Plagg you don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to picking holders." Master Fu gave him a pointed look. "We should stick with what we know works."

He actually laughed at him at this point.

They'd been arguing over this for at least two hours and neither was giving an inch.

Master Fu was stubborn, but so was he.

"Works." Plagg didn't stop laughing. "The kid isn't even turning up to attacks for anything other than to flirt. Then he gets upset when Ladybug doesn't accept his advances."

It was at times like these Fu looked every one of his years. "He has so much potential. I wouldn't have given him the ring otherwise."

"You're right. He had potential." The kwami of destruction rarely acted this serious. "But potential doesn't mean anything if you don't bother using it. Adrien could have been a really good Black Cat. The potential was there. The problem is that he isn't hero material. He just doesn't understand the weight of it all. The responsibilities nor the risks. I'm usually all for fun and freedom, but I know there's a time and a place. He's been raised in a way that has protected him from seeing the world as it is. He views the world in black and white and doesn't see that everything isn't as simple as that. All of it makes him a terrible superhero and it isn't fair for Ladybug-" He shut his eyes tight. "-for Marinette to have to pick up the slack. It's time for you to accept that I need a new holder."

Master Fu massaged his temples.

That was okay.

He could wait a minute.

He already knew that he'd won.

Wayzz came flying over with a cup of tea.

Probably calming tea.

He took another look at the guardian.

Hopefully calming tea.

"You wouldn't have come to me like this if you didn't have an idea." The man took a deep breath. "What do you suggest we do?"

And now they were actually making progress.

"First of all we make a few more holders permanent." He held up a paw to stop Master Fu from protesting. "It's a bigger risk, but we can keep it as safe as possible by making good choices and we need more players to even out the playing field."

"Who would these heroes be?"

He had their attention.

Both Wayzz and the master was listening intently at what he had to say.

Good.

"The Tsurugi girl and snake boy. They're the only ones with experience that Marinette still trusts since her class turned on her. Plus they're both great at being heroes."

"Understandable." Wayzz seemed to be mostly on board by now. "And the Black cat?"

This was where things would get interesting.

He couldn't afford any doubts in this. "Let me choose him. I already have my eye on someone that would fit the miraculous perfectly."

"Who is it?"

A few minutes later Plagg flew out into the evening to return to Adrien for the last time.

It was only to take the ring.

* * *

Tikki had told her to transform and go to an abandoned warehouse.

It was weird, but she tended to trust her kwami and did so this time too.

It didn't make her any less on edge though.

Master Fu appeared and she started to calm down a bit.

"Why am I here?"

Because wasn't that the big question?

It couldn't be for a normal meeting.

They usually had those at the massage parlour.

"Be patient. All will be explained when the rest arrive."

Well, then.

She took to leaning on a pillar where she had a good view of the entire room.

Who else could be coming?

Chat Noir was a possibility, but she somehow doubted it.

He didn't care enough to turn up at every akuma anymore so there wasn't that probable that he'd come to whatever this was.

It only served to confuse her when Viperion came in. "Sass said I should come here?"

Apparently he was confused too.

How did he even get his miraculous?

"Longg told me the same thing." And Ryuko was here too.

She was passed confused.

Master Fu nodded and gave a slight smile. "They were both sent out with their miraculous to find you and bring you here so we could talk."

That explained the how.

Not the why though.

"What are we going to be talking about?" She really wanted to know that.

"We still have to wait for Plagg."

Plagg.

Not Chat Noir.

Just Plagg.

Fu pulled forward one of the wooden boxes that had been abandoned with the place and sat down on it.

She shared a look with Viperion and Ryuko.

The question was quite clear.

They didn't know the guardian after all.

She shrugged and pulled her own box.

The others did too.

The atmosphere was tense.

Something was going to happen.

Thankfully Plagg decided to fly in at that moment.

He had the ring with him.

This couldn't be good.

* * *

"Why do you have Chat Noir's ring?"

She admired Kagami for asking the question she couldn't get out.

Plagg looked at all three of them. "Can any one of you really say that he should keep it?"

None of them could.

Chat had been skiving off and when he did turn up he'd flirt with her and keep saying that they should be together.

It was starting to make her uncomfortable and put so much more pressure on her at every battle.

There was a part of her that felt relieved that he wouldn't be Chat Noir anymore.

"Exactly." Plagg had taken their silence as the answer it was.

"Is that why we're getting to keep our miraculouses?"

"No." Plagg looked at the ring again. "I'm giving my ring to someone else. You two aren't going to replace the Black Cat. Lately it's become obvious that Paris needs more than two heroes. That's where you come in."

* * *

Plagg left through the roof and flew further into the city.

It had gone well considering everything.

Ladybug had backup that would take their responsibilities seriously.

Those three would have each other's backs.

Now they needed a black cat that would do the same.

He hadn't told Master Fu who was getting the ring.

It was a huge risk on his part, but one he was willing to take.

A few more blocks and he'd reached his destination.

Le Grand Paris.

He knew which window he had to go through.

It had the blinds drawn.

Just as usual.

He passed through and found himself in his new holder's room.

Two feet in and he had to dodge a flying knife.

It embedded itself in the wall.

The thrower was getting ready to throw a second one.

But he wasn't screaming.

It was an improvement from most of these situations.

"Good throw, kid."

"What are you?" The knife was still ready to be thrown, but it wasn't as much of a loose canon anymore.

He could even detect some curiosity behind those narrowed eyes.

Now to the usual Q&A part.

"I'm a kwami. I grant magical powers."

Short, concise and to the point.

"You look like a cat."

That wasn't a question.

He decided to take his chances and flew closer.

There wasn't another attempt to skewer him.

"I'm Plagg. Kwami of Destruction. Nice to meet you." He held forward a paw to shake.

* * *

He shook the kwami's paw.

What else was there to do?

And then he listened as the tiny being explained how Paris was being attacked by someone called Hawkmoth that utilised emotions to turn civilians into supervillains.

That didn't exactly go down well.

Someone should have known something if this had been happening for years.

He'd personally only been in the city for a few days and nothing had happened during his stay.

But when he thought about it people had given hints of something happening.

Mentioning akumas and a ladybug.

The knife had laid abandoned as he got to know about the miraculouses.

It was quite incredible really.

Magical jewellery.

That was new.

Then he got to hear about Ladybug and Chat Noir.

And Rena Rogue, Carapace, Pegasus, Roi Singe, Ryuko, Queen Bee, Viperion and Bunnyx.

Paris had their own heroes.

Magically powered up teenagers by the sounds of it.

He couldn't believe how Chat Noir could be a lousy hero without seeing anything wrong in it.

Or how so many temporary heroes could be dumb enough to do something that rendered them unfit to be heroes at all.

Hours were spent learning about so called akumas that had been faced in the past.

It wouldn't be long until sunrise and he still didn't understand why he was being told all of this.

Plagg's answer was straightforward enough.

He'd been chosen to replace Chat Noir.

By a tiny god nonetheless.

He had no idea how to deal with this one.

"You do know I'm leaving Paris within the next 24 hours?"

This was a school trip he'd been forced to go on.

His father's reason was that he needed to make friends.

Hypocrite.

And it wasn't like anyone in his class was worth knowing.

They were rich and entitled imbeciles.

"That would be a problem." Plagg grinned. "Except I happen to know the Justice League has Zeta tubes that go to Paris."

"And this helps me how?"

Note to self: Kwamis don't have eyebrows, but can still make an impression of lifting one.

"I've been spying on you for three days." Way to be blunt. "Do you really think I don't know you're Robin?"

He wouldn't be getting sleep anytime soon.

His eyes strayed to the place in the wall where his knife had been.

Definitely not anytime soon.

* * *

"How did the trip go?"

He scowled. "It was a torturous experience and utterly unnecessary."

Grayson was clearly not surprised. "Lil'd, you need friends or you'll end up like Bruce."

"I fail to see the problem with that."

His eldest brother shook his head and chuckled.

Suddenly he'd gotten a hug and the offender was no where to be seen.

* * *

His father noticed immediately. "You have a ring."

"I do quite like it. I got it in Paris."

No one looked twice at the ring after that.

* * *

"Demon spawn's back."

"You didn't kill anyone, did you?"

"Make any friends?"

Grayson broke up the fist fight that took place a few minutes later.

Cain hadn't participated, but had somehow acquired popcorn.

* * *

Plagg floated beside him. "Your family is chaotic. I like it."

He gave him a piece of camembert from his post patrol sandwich.

"You haven't seen us being chaotic yet."

The kwami looked absolutely delighted at hearing it.

* * *

P.E.

A dilemma every young vigilante faced.

It meant that father didn't bat an eye when he skipped every Physical Education class he had.

It served him well as he could head to Paris instead.

Especially since no one ever expected him to come right home after school.

His hobby of wandering the city to draw whatever caught his interest had never been as helpful.

The Zeta wasn't far from his school.

But he did encounter another problem.

They'd be able to trace him if he went through.

He couldn't leave any crumbs for anyone to find.

That included his family.

He didn't want them to know about this.

Not until he was sure about what this was.

Plagg could only explain so much.

Plagg.

Of course!

"You're the kwami of destruction. Could you destroy my digital footprints?"

Plagg shook his head from his pocket. "I wouldn't be able to control something like that, but maybe you could."

"You want me to transform?" And use destroying powers without knowing what I'm doing went unsaid, but heavily implied.

"It's difficult destroying something that isn't physical, but if you concentrate on severing any connection you might be able to leave between yourself and the zeta you might just manage."

"Are you sure?"

"Nope, but let's try anyway."

* * *

It worked.

But it had brought a new set of questions.

How does cataclysm work? Is it possible to use it without saying anything? If not, would it work if you whispered the phrase?

And what about the baton? How far can it extend? Does it have any other features?

It lead to them having a training session in an abandoned warehouse.

An abandoned warehouse that wasn't really abandoned, but belonged to Wayne Enterprises and was out of use at the moment.

It was where Plagg told him to go and he didn't have any objections.

The walls were soundproof so no one would hear him in here.

Plagg answered as many of his questions he could while snacking on a piece of camembert.

Sometimes he didn't know the answer, but they could always try it out later.

And try it out they did.

The weapon felt unfamiliar and foreign in his hands.

He planned to rectify that as fast as possible.

* * *

Some time passed as he tested things out.

In Gotham school had just let out.

In Paris it was heading towards nine o'clock.

Six hours time difference did that.

The point was that the three heroes of Paris were supposed to meet up to discuss how they'd continue on.

It so happened that Ladybug was the first to arrive.

It so happened that the Ladybug and the Black Cat noticed each other at the same time.

* * *

_Bluebell eyes that burned with fierceness behind the mask of a ladybug._

* * *

_Forest green eyes that felt wrong and contrasted greatly with the black mask._

* * *

Neither dropped their weapon, but they didn't take any fighting stance.

Plagg had told them they'd be getting a new black cat.

Her new partner.

A new chance.

Plagg had told him there was a team.

The girl in front of him his partner.

Himself, her second one.

* * *

_She was tiny._

* * *

_He was tall._

* * *

Neither hid how they sized each other up.

Trying to make sense of the person in front of them.

They wanted this to be different.

They were willing to make adjustments.

Both wanting this to work against all odds.

* * *

_Her suit was simplistic and very formfitting. Red with black spots._

* * *

_His suit was practical and completely black. A mix of ninja and spy._

* * *

They'd seen darkness.

Paris was the city of lights, but a mad man held the citizens hostage.

Taking advantage of people and turning them into the worst version of themselves.

Not caring if people died to get what he wanted.

She'd seen it.

Gotham wasn't a place for innocence and neither was the league of assassins.

It wasn't a trade for the softhearted.

Kindness had no place in an assassin's heart.

He'd seen it.

* * *

_Pigtails. Medium length hair. Dark as night._

* * *

_His hood had cat ears. It fitted him well with that black hair._

* * *

She'd been forced to watch everything go to hell so many times.

There had been too many close calls.

Then everything would go back to normal.

As if nothing ever happened.

Except it had and she wouldn't forget all the people that had died.

That she hadn't been able to save.

Sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, friends and foes alike.

They might not remember it, but she could never forget.

* * *

He'd grown up with it.

Never knowing it wasn't normal.

Seeing men and women destroy families and take lives.

Not even blinking at the lives lost.

He hadn't only seen it, but experienced it too.

He knew exactly how it felt and that was impossible to let go of.

Being trained as a weapon to use against people that were in the way or simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.

He'd have to carry that burden for the rest of his life.

* * *

_Her eyes burned brighter even if they had a sheen to them._

* * *

_His eyes looked black when light didn't shine on them._

* * *

The darkness had tried to kill her spirit.

Make her back down.

It only made her fight back harder.

* * *

For a long time he'd been part of the darkness.

He'd chosen to step away.

But the shadows still called for him to come home.

* * *

_She was a beacon of hope to rally behind._

* * *

_He was a shadow never meant to be seen._

* * *

The tension was high.

A make or break situation.

They both took a few steps towards each other.

Slowly.

This wasn't something that could be hurried.

They're eyes were locked together as they got closer.

The distance between them were shrinking until they stood within arm's reach.

She smiled.

It was tiny and a bit strained, but present.

And he tried to respond with one of his own even though it turned out more like a grimace.

For just a beat nothing changed.

But then a few chuckles escaped her.

And it grew to pure laughter.

He didn't twitch a muscle as she had to bend over to get a handle on it.

"I'm so sorry." She wheezed. "It's just this entire situation."

"Don't be. This is uncomfortable for the both of us." He held forth his hand. "I'm Shadowcat."

She took the offered hand. "Ladybug."

They didn't trust each other.

Not yet.

But maybe they would someday.

* * *

More introductions went around when Viperion and Ryuko arrived.

They did have a meeting.

Shadowcat was given the run down of certain things.

That included the akuma alert app.

He was very grateful for that one.

She also gave a few tips to the others since they weren't used to being permanent holders.

That included carrying something for their kwamis to eat at all times and having a few excuses ready to go.

They also agreed on doing some training to get used to each other.

There wasn't any problem between any of them and that had been a major concern.

It had been hard to foresee without knowing who the new black cat was.

From what little she'd gotten he wasn't the best at social interaction.

That could be because of so many reasons that she wasn't even going to think about it until she knew more.

The biggest difference between him and Chat Noir though had been how professional and serious he had been about everything.

That was not to say he was stiff or anything like that.

He just seemed to get that there was a time and place.

She appreciated it.

Ryuko had been the first to leave and Shadowcat followed soon after.

"I get why Plagg chose him." Viperion smiled. "His song. It's fast and thrilling. Chaotic, but controlled."

There had been more that he wasn't telling her, but that wasn't meant for her to know.

She'd find out with time.

* * *

He made it back to Gotham in time for dinner without anyone noticing.

He didn't tell them a single thing.

* * *

"What are you doing?"

Plagg had watched as he brought forward a map and studied it for fifteen minutes straight.

It was only a matter of time until he asked.

"If I am going to operate in Paris I'll need to know where everything is."

No one was allowed to notice that he didn't live in Paris.

Luckily he had an insider.

He turned to the kwami floating next to him.

Their system worked flawlessly.

Every question adequately answered resulted in a little piece of camembert.

They stayed up late.

* * *

"Tikki, what do you think about Shadowcat?"

The kwami pondered the question. "It's too early to say for sure, but he does resonate better with Plagg."

"That's what I thought." She pulled on the pyjama top. "Everything is just changing a bit too fast."

Tikki cuddled into her cheek. "Change can be a good thing, Marinette. Who knows? Maybe this will make it easier in the long run."

"Maybe."

* * *

His first akuma happened the next day.

It changed a lot.

Called herself Mama Bear.

Could de-age people to toddlers.

Her sons had bailed out of visiting her.

He wasn't the most sympathetic person around, but even he could tell she was as much of a victim as everyone else.

It made things harder.

* * *

"Nadja Chamack live here at the Trocadéro where an akuma is currently attacking. Multiple accounts tells us she turns people back into small children-" Some kind of cookie flew by to a business man. Then it lit up as he seemingly shrunk until a toddler stood in his place. "That is now confirmed. Ladybug has just arrived on the scene. She is immediately attacked and forced to dodge an alarming amount of projectiles. This does not look good. And just as she is about to be hit a harp comes flying in and pushes away the offending cookie. Incredible timing for Viperion. It seems out favourite superheroine won't have to go it alone this time. Ryuko also joins the party and they aren't making it easy for the akuma. This formidable trio definitely have this handled, but- Is that Chat Noir? Wait, no this is someone different. Paris apparently has a new Black Cat. Stay tuned and don't be bemused, it's just the news."

* * *

She was surprised by how easily she fell right back into having someone watching her back.

It had been a while since that last happened.

Now she had three good heroes to help her at all times.

It was invigorating.

For so long she'd had to go at it alone and now she didn't have to.

It was the first time in forever she actually came out of a fight without feeling dead on her feet.

* * *

He couldn't believe how different it was from fighting regular criminals.

They had to figure out what object was infected and then get a hold of it.

Then the powers.

He knew how to fight against someone that was superpowered, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

But then technically he had powers now too.

It was all so absurd.

* * *

That was only the beginning.

From then on it was a common sight to see all four of them at fights.

The public loved them.

Paris finally had a working superhero team.

Their training was doing wonders and they were slowly learning to trust each other.

They taught and learned.

Figured things out as they went.

They all had their ticks, their strengths and their weaknesses.

The warehouse remained their go to location and it wasn't uncommon to find them going their without a reason other than that they had free time.

Sometimes they ended up being there alone for awhile, but it happened that they bumped into each other.

That's how it came to be that Shadowcat and Ryuko started fencing/swordfighting together.

How Viperion and Ladybug could be playing go fish on some crates.

Or even how sometimes they all ended up on the floor with their homework.

They weren't getting sloppy, but they'd gotten to trust in each and every one of them and knew no one would try to figure out any identities from anything they let slip.

It simply wasn't needed.

Ladybug didn't make it a secret that she knew who the other two were, but Shadowcat never took it badly.

He understood the need for secrecy.

They all did.

And if they along the way realised that it wouldn't be the end of the world if they did find out-.

Well, it wouldn't bother them overly much.

Ladybug and Shadowcat did try building up a working partnership.

It was difficult.

Everything had to be built from the ground up.

They trained just the two of them at times.

Partnered up for patrol too.

And slowly their partnership blossomed.

* * *

The first month was the hardest.

But they got through it.

He spent more and more time in the city of love.

She spent less and less time with her classmates.

* * *

"What about you, Damian? You aren't home as much anymore."

Father had to bring that up at a family dinner, didn't he?

Keep cool.

Don't give anything away.

"I've found myself quite inspired lately. I'm going to need a new sketchbook soon."

Drake snorted. "What's got you so inspired?"

"The city has many moments and places that should be captured on paper."

He hadn't lied so far.

Well, not much.

His sketchbook was getting rather full, but it wasn't Gotham he was filling it up with.

He had others that were filled to the brim with that, but not this one.

No, this one he used in Paris.

Most were done in the times he just strolled around without any goal in mind.

It made for interesting drawings.

But back to his family of detectives that were interrogating him.

They couldn't sense him lying and were obviously ready to move the conversation forward.

"That's not all there is." Except Grayson had to open that mouth of his. "Have you found friends, Dami?"

His first instinct was to deny it, but the words wouldn't come out in anything other than a jumbled mess.

He was spending way too much time with Ladybug.

But that was all that was needed for everyone at the table to assume he had friends.

He didn't.

Plagg pressed against his side from the inside of his pocket as if he knew what he was thinking.

He probably did.

The kwami was lazy not dumb.

The only ones outside of his family he spent any bigger amounts of time with was his teammates.

Had they become his friends?

* * *

She'd been pushed down the stairs by Alya.

The rest of her class laughed.

Lila had sent her a victorious smile.

It wasn't the first time.

Not even close.

But this time had been different.

It hadn't hurt as much.

Well, physically it had, but not emotionally.

It used to feel like a stab in the back every time her friends let her down like that.

Seeing her best friend abandon her at every way possible.

Betrayal hurt worse than being flung across Paris.

She had enough experience to say that with certainty.

Except this time she hadn't been looking at her friends.

Her friends would have stood by her.

Just like Kagami did when she helped her up from the floor and lead her out of the building.

"They aren't worth it."

And wasn't that just priceless.

Kagami didn't even know they were teammates, but she was the one to have her back when she needed someone to.

And she was right.

They weren't her friends anymore and they weren't worth the effort.

Any semblance of friendship had been lost long ago.

She'd moved on as best she could.

She had new friends that wouldn't turn on her at the drop of a hat.

Kagami.

Luka.

Shadowcat.

They were her real friends.

* * *

He left the kitchen in some sort of haze.

His family's disbelief weren't quiet.

He didn't notice.

* * *

She left school with a friend by her side.

Her classmates mocked her as she walked.

She didn't notice.

* * *

"I'm bullied."

It was their turn to patrol and they were nearly done for the night.

They hadn't talked a lot.

Both stuck in their own worlds.

And then she said it.

It wasn't a cry for help nor was it for sympathy.

She used the same tone as when talking about the weather.

No emotion at all.

"Oh." He turned towards her, but he didn't offer her any pity.

"Yeah, have been for about a year or two now." She swallowed, but she continued. She needed to do this. "They used to be my friends. I would always excuse whatever they did because of that. It didn't hit me until today that I'm being bullied."

Shadowcat didn't look at her anymore, but she knew he was paying attention.

She continued. "I don't know how to handle this. Shouldn't I feel sad or angry? I know it's better that I don't, emotion exploiting terrorist and all, but I literally can't feel any of it. All I feel is hallow."

He was never easy to read.

It made it all the more frightening that he seemed to be unable to form any kind of answer.

He was out of his comfort zone.

That much was clear.

At last he closed his eyes and took a moment. "I think I have an idea."

* * *

He left her at a random rooftop and when he came back he had ice-cream.

Triple chocolate.

It wasn't small by any means either.

They had a huge tub each.

He handed her a spoon and sat down.

Then view of the city was fantastic.

The Seine sparkled in the moon light.

The first taste of the ice-cream exploded in her mouth.

It was heavenly.

And after a while she started to feel a bit better.

Not good, but less empty.

It was nice.

"Feeling better?"

She nodded and swallowed. "Thanks."

"My brother and I always get ice-cream when we're out and about late. I've seen him devour his own weight in ice-cream at particularly bad days. He says it makes everything better when you're down." He shrugged. "I thought it wouldn't hurt to try it."

Her parents must never meet him.

They'd adopt him.

But they kept talking long after the ice-cream was gone.

He told her more about himself and his family.

Turned out he had more than one sibling.

In turn she told him about her hobbies and such.

She probably talked his ear of about designs she wanted to make.

It was bizarre being so open to someone while in her mask.

It should have scared her how easily she let her guard down.

It didn't.

They didn't leave until the sun started peaking out on the horizon.

* * *

That night impacted their partnership in ways no one had expected.

They trusted each other from then on.

And a seed had been planted in the bottom of their hearts.

Feelings they'd both deny having.

At least for now.

* * *

He made his family promise to not try to find his friends.

They wouldn't have listened if he hadn't threatened to drop them and going back to being a loner if they continued.

It was a empty threat.

* * *

She found his sketchbook.

She hadn't meant to peak, but it happened anyway.

It blew her away and took her to a whole other world.

The Eiffel Tower.

The Louvre.

The Trocadéro.

Different parks, cafés and buildings.

People.

A lot of which she recognised and even more which she didn't.

A stray cat.

Le Grand Paris.

Fang.

Not Jagged Stone, but Fang.

There was even a drawing of her parents' bakery.

It gave her a peak into his soul and she felt bad for seeing something that obviously wasn't for her eyes.

She went to give it back to him.

* * *

They were a mess.

He'd apparently found her own sketchbook and looked through it.

Seen all of her designs.

She was ready to crawl under a stone and stay there for the rest of her miserable life.

But he liked it.

And it wasn't something he said to be polite.

He gave her reasons for why he liked them.

It made it less embarrassing.

Then the roles were reversed when she told him about her similar mishap.

She should have gone with the stone.

It would have been easier.

* * *

Ryuko and Viperion accidentally detransformed right in front of each other.

That wasn't even half of it.

Luka and Kagami were soulmates.

It brought forth a new set of questions.

* * *

Plagg finished of his piece of camembert. "It's simple, really. It was the first time Dragongirl and Snakeboy met without being transformed."

* * *

Tikki waved her arms as she talked. "They're soulmates so they said their words."

* * *

"Miraculouses aren't supposed to interfere with the balance of the world-."

* * *

"-so the transformation blocks you from finding your soulmate. Kagami and Luka technically met-."

* * *

"-as Ryuko and Viperion, but their bond didn't come into play until they weren't actively using a miraculous-."

* * *

"-that could block them out. Well, mostly."

* * *

"They've been getting closer for some time now, kid. They just clicked in a way only soulmates do."

* * *

"Of course they didn't know that."

* * *

Let's say both of them were sure their kwami was laughing behind their backs.

They didn't get why.

Sometimes they were too oblivious .

* * *

The team was even more open after that.

Ryuko and Viperion were taking things slow, but they had agreed to tell him their identities since he was the only one that didn't already know.

It had been a big show of trust on their part.

He, if anyone, knew the importance of secret identities.

He also knew how hard it was to trust someone with information that could make or break everything.

Secret identities were a thing for a reason.

He'd take theirs to the grave.

* * *

"CHLOE BOURGEOIS!"

Follow that with a lot of crashes, screaming and a few superheroes dropping from the sky.

"Again? That must be the fourth time this week."

"And eighteenth this month."

"Hawkmoth probably just waits until Chloe pisses someone off to send of an akuma. "

"How much of an idiot is this girl?"

"You haven't met her?"

"No."

"Lucky."

* * *

"That will be 800."

"800?"

"800. I'd rather take cash, but I could settle on that dark blue card of yours instead."

"Kagami, I consider you one of my best friends. That said, if you let him get that card I'll make sure you regret every decision you've ever made."

"Just turn some cards around and give him the money."

"Snakeboy has been in prison for most of it all. I wouldn't value his advice to highly."

"What if I give you a yellow one and these two red ones?"

"Not a chance. Ladybug would kill me to get those."

"What if I throw in a get out of jail card?"

"Still not happening."

"Well, what do you suggest?"

"How about those two greens and the water works?"

"That's as bad as giving you the dark blue one."

"We'll be here for awhile."

* * *

"I'm going to fail english."

"How come?"

"Have you ever spoken to me when I'm panicking? I get stressed and then when I'm trying to say something it just doesn't make any sense at all."

"You need practice. Then you'll be fine."

"Yeah, that's a no go. My parents don't speak english."

"Who said anything about your parents?"

* * *

"Mr Pigeon? He actually made it a entire year without getting akumatized."

"These names keeps getting worse."

* * *

"Arms out."

"Why if I may ask?"

"Measurements. I'm making you a surprise, but I need to know your sizes."

"You don't need to make me anything."

"Hush. The designer is working."

* * *

"Nice jacket, Demon."

"Thank you, Brown."

...

"I can't be the only one that heard that. Right?"

* * *

"You're hurt."

"I'm not."

"You are. You flinch every time you move your left arm."

"It's nothing."

"That's definitely not nothing."

"I-... My old friends pushed me into a railing today."

"Want me to kill them for you?"

"No, thanks.

"My offer stands."

"Good to know. Ice-cream?"

"Ice-cream."

* * *

"Were you two dancing?"

"That's correct."

"Any specific reason why?"

"I'm going to be her plus one on some gala and I didn't know how to dance."

"That's so sweet!"

They restarted the music and watched as Kagami and Luka continued.

"May I have this dance?"

* * *

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

"That never gets old."

* * *

It was once again their turn to patrol.

Slow night.

Nothing unusual.

Except something was up with Ladybug.

She was off somehow.

He didn't understand what was weighing on her mind until they'd already finished up patrol.

Guilt.

His partner felt guilty for keeping things from him because he was new.

For not trusting him with everything.

Including her identity.

* * *

That evening could have gone two different ways.

It all came down to one thing.

One question that they needed to answer.

Could they let go of their secrets?

Yes or no.

There wasn't room for maybe.

* * *

The logical choice was the safe one.

To forget about it, walk away and continue on like they were doing.

Secrets were secret for a reason and the stakes were too high to take risks.

Sharing would put them, the guardian, Paris as a whole and their families in danger to mention a few.

But it would also shatter what they'd built up between them.

All of it.

In the end they'd both reached the same conclusion.

Screw the logical choice.

* * *

He took her through the Zeta.

She looked around in wonder. "Where are we?"

Because of course he hadn't explained anything to her beforehand.

And it was earlier in the day, late afternoon, buildings she'd never seen before and quite a few other details that clued her in that they weren't in Paris anymore.

"Gotham."

So began the first of many revelations.

* * *

Her partner was Robin.

One of her favourite american heroes was her partner.

She'd been working with a professional.

* * *

They were saving their civilian identities for last.

"Do you have any other secret aliases then?"

It was meant as a joke.

Something he'd only recently started doing around her.

But the two of them hidden on a rooftop without security cameras was as good of a time as any.

* * *

His partner was MDC.

The one person his entire family had searched for everywhere.

He'd worn a one of a kind original MDC jacket in a manor filled with MDC fans.

* * *

They watched the world go by as they shared secret after secret.

Some larger than others.

He'd been raised as an assassin.

She was being trained to be the next guardian of the miracle box.

He had died.

She'd been trying to find Hawkmoth by herself.

And they continued.

Everything was being told.

How they'd become the person they were today, insecurities, lies they'd told, responsibilities...

Until only one secret each remained.

Correction

One secret each and a lie they were both telling themselves.

* * *

She nibbled on her lip. "How are we doing this?"

And wasn't that the question.

They'd been discussing it for ten minutes already.

It took another five for them to come to a decision.

Simultaneously detransform in front of each other.

Introductions after that.

Simple as that.

Saying they were going to do it and actually going through with it was very different things.

They stood with one or two feet between them.

Gathered courage for what stood before them.

She sought out his eyes.

Eyes that never felt completely right.

But they were a comfort.

Her lifeline.

He didn't need words to ask her if she was ready.

She wasn't, but she would never really be.

So she nodded anyway.

Spots off and claws in.

Both a mere whisper.

As the light swept over them she closed her eyes unaware that he'd done the same.

Two teenagers on a rooftop.

For the first time there wasn't any masks in between.

Their eyes were still closed and her heart was beating harder than ever.

This was it.

She swallowed.

It took a lot to remind herself that this was her partner.

The one person in the world she knew best.

Especially after today.

Her best friend.

Her heart protested.

She knew why and she was through denying it.

Tikki, sweet and helpful Tikki, gave her a gentle push on the shoulder.

She had to do it before she lost her nerve.

The push was exactly what she needed.

Without opening her eyes she took a single step forward and reached out for him.

Ready or not, her she goes.

Then she kissed him.

* * *

Neither noticed how Nightwing landed on the rooftop to quickly turn away from the couple that clearly wanted privacy before taking a double take.

They didn't notice him take a photo and then leaving either.

The whole family had already seen the picture before they'd parted.

It hadn't been the best quality, but it had clearly shown their youngest kissing a dark haired girl.

They couldn't even find out anything about the girl since the photograph didn't really show her face.

They'd tried.

* * *

They finally broke apart and opened their eyes.

Emerald and bluebell.

Both blown wide.

* * *

_"You kissed me."_

_"You kissed me back."_


	3. Chapter 3

_It didn't change anything._

_Soulmates._

_An accepted concept without any real impact on anything._

_No marks on skin to lead you there._

_No string of fate pulling you to your other half._

_No physical evidence of anything._

_Just knowing._

_Knowledge that wasn't passed down through generations or taught a school._

_Simply knowing that everyone had a perfect someone out there without ever being told._

_Everyone knew._

_It didn't change anything._

* * *

Marinette's early life was as normal as anyone else's.

She ate and slept.

Met people.

Made friends and foes.

Started school.

Got bullied and learned.

She lived.

What else was there to say?

The interesting stuff didn't happen until she became a teenager.

That's when her life took a turn away from ordinary.

A pair of earrings changed her life.

She became someone else.

More confident.

More willing to stand up for people.

More sure in herself.

That saved her a few months later.

Lila Rossi was a liar.

She didn't turn the class against her.

They did that themselves.

But she was strong and she was certain she'd get through it.

She did.

The next year she was placed in Ms. Mendeleiev's class.

That was how it continued.

Both Ms. Bustier and Ms. Mendeleiev followed them to lycée.

She stayed away from her old class and got new friends in her new one.

Her schedule cleared up when their ridiculous requests disappeared.

It made it easier for her to do well in school despite having Ladybug responsibilities on top.

It got even easier when they defeated Hawkmoth and Mayura.

Through the years they'd gotten closer and closer.

The heroes that stood with her and Chat Noir had changed.

She needed people she could trust.

Viperion and Ryuko had become frequent allies.

It got worse before it got better, but they got them in the end.

The next day Master Fu had disappeared and taken their miraculouses with him.

She hadn't known.

She didn't get to say goodbye to Tikki.

Mentally she'd admit to hating Master Fu just a bit for that.

And Adrien had been Chat Noir.

He'd told the police when evidence was being filed against Mr. Agreste and Nathalie.

It didn't change her mind about him.

He'd been her partner, but he had also been an enabler.

Ladybug and Marinette had been treated differently.

He'd never seen the girl behind the mask.

She ended up telling Luka and Kagami after a while, but they were the only ones.

They were older then.

There wasn't a threat anymore, but she still didn't want to share Ladybug with anyone else.

Ladybug was a part of her that she'd lost.

A personal part.

It was different for her than for the rest.

Adrien had been the only other permanent hero and for him Chat Noir had always been a freedom first.

He didn't need that anymore.

He moved on to other things.

She couldn't do that.

Not completely at least.

The need to make a difference and actually _help_ people wouldn't leave her.

She ended up going out at night sometimes.

Stopping crimes her and there.

Normal crimes.

Those that magical terrorists made people forget.

She was careful.

No one could know what she was doing.

Time passed.

At seventeen she went through the single most difficult time in her life.

Marinette lost her parents.

Car crash.

She was the only survivor.

Her classmates visited her several times in the hospital.

Luka and Kagami practically lived by her bedside.

They grieved with her.

It took two months for all her injuries to heal.

Longer to get back to where she wanted to be physically.

She kept training.

Nonna came to Paris to take care of her.

They moved into a flat.

She went back to school.

Slowly they got into a routine.

And with time it got better.

She wasn't over her parents deaths.

That wouldn't happen for a long time, if at all.

Some days were better than others.

But she felt ready to go on with her life.

Her maman and papan wouldn't have wanted her to be miserable.

Her friends were a huge help.

Then her last year of school came around.

One last year before she'd graduate.

It was also the year she got put back in Ms. Bustier's class.

The exact same class she left years ago.

Everyone was older, but they all still thought her a bully.

But time kept moving.

They won a trip.

One week in Gotham of all places.

Nonna had been so excited.

She'd sat through more than a few conversations about all the things to see.

Her Nonna really had been everywhere.

So in the end of October they went to America.

Now, she might not have had to deal with any mayor bullies or liars for years, but she certainly wasn't stupid.

Everyday she woke up multiple hours earlier than needed with the help of four alarm clocks plus a wake up call.

She kept close watch at all her belongings at all times.

The itinerary for the entire trip with a very detailed map came with her.

That meant she never got left behind or lost.

Not for lack of trying on Lila's part.

The girl already had full control over the class, but still actively went after her.

Despite that the trip was fun.

She got to see so much.

Gothamites wasn't the most friendly bunch, but she'd had a few interesting conversations.

They were persistent too.

One guy had tried to get her wallet ten times in half an hour.

Pick pocketing could become a sport by how well people here did it.

She didn't really mind.

It was kind of like training.

The week flew by in no time and she had a blast.

She finally understood why Nonna loved travelling.

Too bad she underestimated Lila.

* * *

Damian didn't live a normal life.

He never had.

He always had to fight.

Fighting was a constant.

One he didn't know what to do without.

He didn't mind it.

Not really.

It was the lack of control that got on his nerves.

Control.

He'd never had it.

Not over anything in his life.

There were expectations he had to live up to.

First it was to become an assassin.

That had never been a choice.

It was what he'd been raised to believe he wanted.

Then the vigilante business.

Robin.

That had been his choice, hadn't it?

Except did he do it because he genuinely wanted to or because that was what was expected of the son of Batman?

He didn't know how to answer that.

How could he when he himself didn't actually know?

He was eighteen and he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life.

Everyone else had their lives and their plans.

They also had ideas for him.

None of them sounded appealing.

College.

That would be painful.

He already knew most everything a college student needed.

It would be just like all the other years of school he'd been forced through.

WE.

It wasn't for him.

Drake already had everything handled on that side and even if he was interested he be unnecessary.

And all these options continued, but not a single one of them was for him.

It made him a bit nervous.

What if he couldn't find anything?

At times he'd be in the cave and just watch.

Take everything in.

Look at all the marks of time.

The suits.

The Gotham map displayed on the batcomputer.

The others.

And it would always hit him.

This wasn't where he wanted to be.

Gotham wasn't where he wanted to spend the rest of his life.

It never had been.

Gotham was his family's city.

Not his.

All the legacies were strangling him.

It wasn't as easy as being someone else than Robin.

Robin wasn't the only legacy.

Gotham herself was a legacy.

And he was so tired of all expectations.

When had he last been seen as something else than someone's offspring?

Son of Thalia al Ghul.

Grandson of Ra's al Ghul.

Son of Batman.

Son of Bruce Wayne.

He was never Damian.

Not Damian Wayne.

Just Damian.

Both sides of his life wasn't what he wanted them to be.

He didn't know how to fix it.

He was stuck.

Stuck going through the same old actions again and again.

He needed to get away.

That was probably why he'd agreed to go to Paris to sort out some problems with that branch of WE.

* * *

Lila Rossi.

At the moment those two words echoed as a curse of the worst kind in her head.

That little-, ARGH!

She'd woken up late.

Really late.

Someone had snuck into her room and tampered with her alarms and told the reception to change the time of her wake up call.

Thankfully she packed the evening before and only had to get dressed and run.

And run she did.

Like a mad woman.

The bus had already left.

That was fine.

Completely.

She just had to run to the other side of town.

There was no way she'd get a taxi in Gotham.

She was in a hurry, not suicidal.

It took one hour of running, pushing past mostly innocent pedestrians and lagging her suitcase behind her to make it to the airport.

Then she got through security and passport controls to still miss her plane by ten minutes.

Ten. Minutes.

That settled it.

The universe hated her.

Her stomach decided that was the perfect time to remind her she skipped breakfast.

Fantastic.

* * *

He'd arrived early.

Early by a lot.

It wasn't so much for being on time as for getting to experience the airport.

He loved it.

People were all around him, but he went unnoticed.

There were more important things to do than gawk at strangers.

Languages drifted all around him.

He understood quite a lot of them, but not all.

It was something with the atmosphere of it that never grew old.

He loved airports.

And he had a couple of hours to kill.

It wouldn't be difficult.

The day was young and it was a perfect time for a cup of hot chocolate and some breakfast.

* * *

They met at the cafe.

It was filled with people and there were nowhere for Marinette to sit when she came.

Except with Damian that was sitting in his lonesome at a table meant for two.

He wasn't even paying any attention to the girl he suddenly was sharing a table with.

Or at least that's what she thought for twenty minutes straight.

They hadn't said a word to each other since she'd asked if the seat was taken and he'd answered in negative.

That lasted until a waiter tripped over someone's suitcase.

Damian turned his attention to the commotion.

She caught a glimpse at his sketchpad.

A pencil drawing of her and her hot sandwich.

That was the start of their first ever conversation.

Most of it revolved around their chosen art forms.

They made it a contest after a while.

They'd pick something around them to draw inspiration from and see who could make something out of it.

Good thing she always had a small sketchbook in her bag.

Then they moved on to telling funny stories about people they saw at other tables or passing the cafe.

Somewhere along the line they'd ordered a coffee each.

Somewhere along the line they'd stopped talking to a stranger and instead made a new friend.

Somewhere along the line they forgot about reality.

At least for a couple of hours.

* * *

She didn't notice the time until her cellphone went off.

It shocked her how long they'd been speaking.

When she took a look around the cafe was nearly empty.

Big difference from when she'd entered.

But back to the phone call.

It was Nonna.

She bit her lip. "Sorry, but I really have to take this."

Damian didn't get mad. "I get it, but you should answer that before whoever is calling hangs up."

That's exactly what she did.

_"Hi Nonna," _she greeted in french.

_"Hello Marinetta! How did your trip go? Did you met any cute boys?" _

_"It's been absolutely amazing. I'd really love to come back someday." _She ignored the second question. _"But, enough about that. How was India?"_

Nonna hadn't travelled since she'd started living with Marinette so she'd taken the chance now.

While she was in America her Nonna went on her own adventure.

Her flight was only supposed to land a few hours before Marinette's.

_"Fantastic! I have so many pictures to show you. And the stories. You wouldn't believe half of it." _That remained to be seen. _"Is your flight delayed? You should be in the air right now."_

_"I might have missed it." _She heard a sharp intake of breath on the other side of the phone. _"Lila messed with my alarms. All of them. When I finally woke up the bus had already left. I ran to the airport and through the controls, but I still missed it."_

_"Okay, stay calm. We'll- Shoot! Marinetta, I have to go. My second flight is about to leave and I need to turn of my phone. I'll land in Paris in one hour. I'll call you straight back and we'll solve this. Hang tight."_

And she was gone.

That could have gone better.

"Your class actually left you behind. How incompetent is your teacher?"

Damian.

"You speak french."

It wasn't a question.

He nodded anyway. "And your grandmother speaks loudly. It made it easy to hear both sides of the conversation."

"Well, now you know then." She sighed. "I'm going to have to figure out how to get home when Nonna lands."

Her new friends furrowed his eyebrows. "You're going to Paris, right?"

"Yes?"

She had no idea where he was going with this.

"I'm headed there too. You can come with me if you'd like?"

"That's not really how flights work."

One of his eyebrows rose in that way that is impossible to replicate. "You want to bet?"

* * *

"You have a private jet?"

"Technically it belongs to my father."

"You have a private jet."

* * *

That was the beginning of one of the best months in his life.

At least this far.

He had non annoying company on the flight over.

Unusual in his family.

He felt like he knew Marinette better than most anyone after just one day.

And it only got better.

In Paris he got to boss around an entire division of morons and utter sheep without anyone interfering.

Let's say there was a huge change in personnel.

He kept meeting up with Marinette too.

During her lunchbreaks, after school and work, at weekends...

It was weird.

That pressure he'd had on his chest for ages felt just a tiny bit lighter.

He had a friend that helped with that.

He helped her in return.

Slowly she wormed her way into his life until he couldn't picture it without her anymore.

She had become his best friend.

He didn't think he could bare returning to Gotham.

So he didn't.

* * *

"Okay, who's the girl?"

"What makes you think there is a girl?"

"The fact that you didn't deny it is telling."

"..."

"..."

"I told you I intend to stay in Paris and your first suspicion to why was that I've met a girl?"

"I'm the world's greatest detective and your father. Are you really surprised?"

"Not really, no."

"You still haven't answered who she is."

"Her name is Marinette."

"Surname?"

"Unimportant."

"Is that because you're planning to change it to Wayne in the near future?"

Beep.

* * *

One thing that changed after that was the fact that he started going out at night.

He had kept up with his training, but he hadn't actually done any crimefighting since he came there.

Black clothing with a hood and he was ready to go.

* * *

They didn't cross paths like that until early spring.

Let's say it lead to quite a enlightening and surprising conversation.

They went out together at nights after that.

* * *

"I have no idea what I'm going to do after I graduate."

And she plonked down on her office chair.

"I thought you wanted to be a fashion designer." He didn't look up from his notebook, but she knew he was paying attention.

She spun around a bit. "Well, a certain designer with a butterfly fixation ruined that for me. Still love designing and fashion, but it just isn't the same anymore."

"Hence why you're currently stuck."

"Yep."

"Then why are you asking me? I had the exact same problem up until a few months ago."

"Simple, Birdboy. How did you get out of it?"

Damian kept sketching. "I packed my bag and left the country."

* * *

They left the day after she graduated.

* * *

They were eighteen when they left France behind for Greece.

Italy, Spain and Turkey soon followed.

The german mountains were a sight to behold and swiss chocolate was to die for.

Denmark was flat as a pancake and perfect for biking.

In Finland everyone sounded angry 90% of the time.

She learned how to make awesome scones in England.

They started dating in Wiscousin.

And that was only the first month.

* * *

They saw and experienced so much.

But, then that wasn't the only thing they did.

Vigilantism wasn't easy to quit after all.

Marinette made them completely new suits.

Damian got them untraceable weapons from questionable sources.

Both outfits were black and they had green or red detailing depending on whose it was.

He still used swords and she had gotten a one of a kind metal yoyo that would work just as her Ladybug one had done.

Marinette had nearly strangled him in a hug when she got it.

Utility belts rested on their hips and both had hoods and masks.

No. Capes.

That had been a big no no for both of them.

Especially for Marinette, the mini Edna Mode she was.

* * *

One year

So little time can change everything.

Mystica and Diabolo had built themselves a reputation.

It wasn't a hero's reputation.

They were called many things, but never heroes.

Ghosts, saviours, spirits, vigilantes, shadows...

They didn't have their own city.

They were well known for being mobile.

Spotted all around the world from big cities like Tokyo to small villages in the depths of Amazons.

It was impossible to know where they'd be next.

They were unpredictable.

The point was that they didn't want to save the world each and every week.

They wanted to save people.

They didn't go against supervillains.

At least not often, but that was a story for another day.

They went against other evils.

Drug rings.

Child trafficking.

Serial killers.

Corruption.

The mob.

They stopped rapes and robberies.

And they did it well.

No, they weren't heroes.

They'd both happily left that behind.

* * *

They only ever returned to Paris twice.

The first was for two weeks during their second year travelling.

They weren't planning to come back there, but circumstances changed.

Kagami died.

Plane crash when she was travelling from one of her competitions.

By then she'd been engaged with Luka for a couple of months.

Marinette had to be there.

For the funeral and also for Luka.

* * *

Soft strumming was the only sound for a long time.

The funeral had been yesterday and now she was with Luka in his apartment.

They hadn't said anything except the initial greetings, but there had been no silence.

There never was when it came to Luka.

The guitar had filled the void with some of the saddest music she'd ever heard before.

Yearning, sadness, grief...

He'd always been good at playing his feelings.

She didn't try to make him open up.

He was already doing it through his music.

They hadn't needed words in a long time.

"She was my soulmate."

"Oh."

There was nothing else she could say.

Losing a fiancee was tough.

Losing a soulmate?

The fact that he told her was miraculous in itself.

Soulmates were personal.

Most never said a word about it.

She knew she wouldn't.

The music continued and no more words were shared.

* * *

Life went on.

They took odd jobs all around to cover their expenses.

One day they'd be covering a city with posters for some event and another they'd be filling in for the waiters that had caught the flu.

At one point they bumped into Jagged.

She ended up drawing up designs for his next tour.

Damian's talent hadn't gone unnoticed either.

Guess who drew the cover for Jagged Stone's next album.

They kept travelling to different places in the world.

Mystica and Diabolo made many appearances.

They put an end to the biggest drug cartel in Europe.

A village in Peru wouldn't have to worry about the corrupt police anymore.

Australia's biggest company fell from grace when their dirty laundry was mysteriously uncovered.

Life went on and they thrived.

People started to notice.

* * *

They braved Gotham.

He'd sent monthly and untraceable messages to let them know the universe hadn't managed to kill him yet.

He'd never told them where he was, what he was doing or with whom he was.

The bats had never been as surprised as when their youngest came back after three years with a girl in tow.

They made the most mundane entrance possible and still it caught everyone off guard.

* * *

Alfred Pennyworth opened the door as he most often did when the doorbell went off.

The fact that it was nearly midnight was was only a bit unusual in this household.

Someone that was aware of the residents' nightly hobby wouldn't bat an eye at the time.

He was prepared for a great number of things.

Master Damian alongside a young lady however was not one of those things.

The boy that had been so angry when he first entered the house all those years ago smiled at him. "Penn- Alfred. This is Marinette. She's my girlfriend."

Alfred had seen a lot happen on these very grounds and he could honestly say that little surprised him anymore.

This was probably the closest he'd come in a long time.

He opened the door wider to let them in.

He'd take it all in stride.

"Welcome home."

* * *

The bats finished up their patrol and returned to batcave.

It was one of those times where all of them were in the city and had gone out.

Otherwise everything was just as usual.

They changed to civvies and headed up.

The kitchen was the destination.

Fighting crime took a lot of energy.

They walked in to find Alfred, Damian and an unknown girl at the table.

Apparently they'd been in the middle of telling Alfred about the festival in Brazil.

The girl was smiling broadly and gesticulating wildly with her arms as she told a story about a paper dragon.

Damian had a small, but still present smile on his face.

The adoring look he was giving the girl was impossible to miss.

Any hopes of going to bed anytime soon went down the drain.

* * *

They spent the entire night explaining everything and telling stories about the world they'd travelled.

Funnily enough alter egos were never mentioned.

It made for a nice last surprise for the family when Damian and Marinette went out on patrol with them.

* * *

"Do you think she's your soulmate?" Dick asked him.

"I can't see it being anyone else."

* * *

They didn't settle.

Travelling wasn't something they ever wanted to give up.

Gotham became a normal pit stop, but they never stayed for too long.

The world was a big place and they wanted to see it all.

It continued until they suddenly were 25 years old.

* * *

It was one of their exceptions.

One of the times they went up against actively world threatening threats.

The league of assassins were trying to destroy most of the world.

Weapons had been strategically placed to wipe out 90% of the population.

All assets had been called in.

That included them.

The locations were scattered all over the world and all major players had been given one to check out.

They'd been handed Paris.

The weapon they were looking for was supposed to be a box of some kind.

One had already exploded and taken a lot of people with it.

It had gone of early and alerted them to the threat.

A lot of hacking did the rest.

A team was trying to figure out how to stop it all, but so far they had no idea.

They didn't even know when they would blow.

The odds were stacked against them, but they had to try.

* * *

It was the second and last time they were in Paris.

* * *

It was by complete chance that they were the once that got the base of operations.

The base of operations which were filled with assassins.

Good thing they weren't amateurs or they'd been dead before they entered.

* * *

They took out the assassins, got to the machine and stopped all explosions from going off worldwide.

That was the short version.

The long version included eight hours of non stop fights and a huge amount of knocked out ninjas.

The bomb for lack of other words had been speeded up so they'd had to defuse an unknown weapon on a very limited time.

The timer had literally had two seconds left when they'd stopped it.

They'd saved Paris and most of the world.

Another happy ending.

Then everything went wrong.

* * *

Everyone were ecstatic.

The world lived to see another day.

Heroes, civilians and even villains celebrated.

On the floor of a warehouse in Paris two people laid lifeless.

* * *

"We did it! We actually did it. We saved the world." Mystica was obviously thrilled about that.

Diabolo loved seeing her like this.

So full of life as she did a tiny victory dance.

He pulled her closer to him. "Marry me."

"Gladly." And he could hear how she was trying not to cry.

Time stopped as they caught each other in a kiss.

It was soft and sweet and perfect.

They didn't see it coming.

A sword through his back that pierced them both.

It was pulled out and they collapsed.

An assassin walked out of the room without looking back.

Maybe they missed one, maybe they called for back up, maybe one of them woke up...

So many maybes and it didn't even matter.

They'd been distracted and someone had taken advantage of that.

It didn't take long for them to reach the same conclusion.

They weren't going to make it out of this one.

Lethal wound, too much blood.

It was serious.

They'd either bleed out or fall from the internal injuries.

They were going to die.

"I- love you."

Wrong.

Too strained.

"That's cheesy."

It hurt like hell.

He could see her laying right next to him.

She was wearing her mask, but he knew she was looking at him too.

She tried to chuckle, but ended up coughing. "I know."

Even dying she was smiling.

He was struck by how beautiful she was.

He didn't want to die.

There was so many places they hadn't been yet.

So many things they hadn't tried yet.

He'd never get to marry her.

"I love y-you too."

Her hand reached out to bridge the gap between them.

She couldn't reach him.

He felt those blue eyes lock onto him.

"One last-." The coughing got worse. "One last a-adventure?"

Those words should terrify him.

He knew they'd be the last ones she'd ever say.

But this was Marinette in front of him.

He would never have been able to live without her.

He used whatever energy he had left to take her hand.

"W-with you?" He swallowed. "Always."

He could feel her weak pulse as the world slowly dimmed.

A comfort up until the very moment he felt her slip away.

He followed moments later as the world went dark.

* * *

_"One last adventure?"_

_"With you? Always."_

* * *

_Soulmates did't change anything._

_Everyone knew about them._

_Everyone knew how they worked._

_No one wanted to know for sure who theirs was._

_The only thing anyone knew about their soulmate was what their last words to them would be._

_Sometimes knowing was a curse._


End file.
